Way to go Adam!!

Adam finished his first semester at SCO with flying colors!! We are so glad finals are over and are so proud of what a great job he did! Not only did he get great grades, he did a really good job of balancing school and family. He is home every day by 5:00 (I know a lot of students who are at the school till 7:00 or later) and is so great to spend his evening playing and wrestling with Cameron. He even gives Cameron his bath every night (my little time to relax while the boys have a blast together playing with bath toys), and he helps me get Cameron to bed. Seriously, could a girl ask for a better husband? Yea for Christmas break - I love it when we just get to spend all day, everyday together!! Anyway, I am so lucky to have you babe! Thanks for all you do for our little family!

On being parents...

CAMERON ADAM RUDD

A few days before our lives changed forever.

Five days old. Was he really ever that tiny?

Have you ever seen such a cute and chubby baby?

I can't believe my baby is such a big boy!

Recently quite a few of our friends have announced that they will be having their first child. With that and of course our little girl joining us soon, I have been reminiscing a lot about the arrival of Cameron and the past two years. I was looking back at old pictures and just had to share - I am just so proud of my cute little boy! Being parents is absolutely the greatest blessing and we have enjoyed it so much!! And, as much fun as Cameron was at all these stages – Adam and I have been commenting a lot lately about how it just gets funner!

Cameron does/learns new things every day right now and it is so much fun to watch! Our favorite right now is his developing sense of humor. He is constantly saying, “That’s funny!” and he is always trying to make us laugh. The other day he was watching Sesame Street while I got ready and I heard him laughing so loud I had to go in and check it out. When I asked him what was so funny he said, “Noodle so funny!” Apparently he finds the character Mr. Noodle absolutely hilarious. Yesterday when we picked him up from nursery he had quite a list to share of all the great things he did and then started chuckling to himself and said, “Bubbles funny!” (They ended nursery by blowing bubbles.) This age is just too much fun!

Anyway, enough mom rambling! All you soon to be parents out there…get excited! The challenging/hard stuff is a small part and the fun stuff just gets better and better!

Super Easy Cookies

I got this recipe from a friend and it has been a lifesaver this Christmas. Between the two of us Adam and I somehow signed up to help with every ward event in the past few weeks, so I have been cooking and baking like crazy! It has been very busy and very fun. On Saturday our ward is hosting a community event that we have invited three of our neighbors to. One of them asked if our church was the big white one with Joseph Smith on top (the temple is next to our ward building). Pretty close I guess :) We hope a few of them stop by - yea for missionary work! Anyway, it has been nice to have one recipe that seriously takes five minutes and is still way tasty! I actually hate most everything pumpkin, and I really love these!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

1 small can pumpkin
1 box spice cake mix
1 package chocolate chips

Mix together and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.
No really...that's it! Thanks Brynn for such a great recipe.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

This Christmas season has been so fun with Cameron old enough to be excited about everything! I don't think he understands it all yet, although he response with an excited "YES!" when anyone asks if Santa is going to visit him. But, he loves Santa, snowmen (he says "Noman!"), and all the Christmas lights. By snowmen I mean the fake plastic and blowup kind you find in Memphis. It is 73 degrees outside today and although we don't miss the biting Logan cold we are a little sad we won't get to build a snowman with him this year. Anyway, we are just having a wonderful time. Cameron walks around the house ringing a little silver bell and singing "Jingle Bells", which in his version goes like this..."Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells,..." you get the idea! :) And, as you can see, he even loved meeting Santa. Last year he was terrified, but this year he thought it was great - mostly because Santa gave him a sucker. We bought a few pictures that are better, but these are the ones we just took off to the side with our own camera.

One other really fun thing this year has been getting out our decorations again. Last year we spent the holiday at Adam's parents, so our decor just stayed in boxes and it has been fun to see it all again. My favorite part is our little tree covered in the ornaments we have collected throughout the years. I started the tradition of giving Adam an ornament in High School and we have kept it going ever since. It is so fun to look back at the ornaments...Our first Christmas as a couple (at age 17!), a computer for the year Adam was at Ricks and I was at USU (Oh the fun of an email relationship), a missionary bear I sent Adam on his mission, our wedding ornament, a little house for the year we bought our first home, Cameron's "First Christmas" ornament, and this year an SCO ornament - our first Christmas in Memphis! We have at least one ornament representing each year since 1999. As you can see, before too much longer we are going to have to get a bigger tree to hold them all!

Anyway, we are just enjoying our first Memphis Christmas! We will miss seeing all our friends and family, but are also looking forward to enjoying the time together as a little family. We hope you are enjoying the season as much as we are!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Advice Needed

Hey, this is a random post, but we are looking into a few big purchases right now and were wondering if any of you out there have any advice on the subject.

First, we want to buy a digital camcorder with the money my parents gave us for Christmas. It can't be too expensive ($100-$150 range), but we want something that will still be good. We were looking at something like the "flip", which gets good reviews online, but we were wondering if any of you have something like this and would be willing to share your opinion.

The other purchase we are looking at is a double stroller. We still use a stroller with Cameron constantly, so I don't think I could live without one after the new baby comes. Do any of you moms love your double stroller or have a friend that does? Especially now that we buy everything online, it is hard to know what you will get. I have looked in stores around here and haven't found anything so far, so it looks like this will probably be an online buy.

Anyway, any input you can give would be great! Thanks!

My Big Boy

I can't believe how fast Cameron is growing up! He is looking less like a baby and more like a little boy, talking like crazy, and last week he moved from the crib to his big boy bed and is doing great!! I have to say I was very worried about the transition. He is such a good sleeper and to be honest, I wasn't ready to give up any more of my sleep yet (the pregnancy steals enough!). But, I decided it would be easier to do it now than to wait till after the baby came. So I read everything about the subject that I could get my hands on, and so far it has been great. It has taken some teaching time, but he has gotten better and better each day and has continued to sleep through the night! For you moms who like me, way over stress stuff like this, here is the advice that I used. We started preparing for the move on Tuesday and then he slept in the bed for the first time on Thursday. I waited until Thursday night because Adam's last test for the week was on Thursday. If it didn't go well, I didn't want lack of sleep to affect his tests. Anyway, here it is...

• Grandma and Grandpa bought him sheets with cars, trucks, and airplanes on them. He was so excited and on Tuesday I had him help me wash them and put them on the bed.
  
• On Tuesday we moved our bedtime routine to the big bed, but put him to sleep in the crib. We continued doing our nap/bedtime routine in the big bed (prayers, reading, and singing a song) but putting him to sleep in the crib for a few days. I'm not sure I would do this again. He was so excited to sleep in the bed, he was sad to go to sleep in the crib. I would have just let him sleep in the bed that first night, except Adam had two big tests Wednesday and Thursday.
  
• After the routine we also put his favorite stuffed animal, his USU monkey, to sleep in the big bed. We tucked him in and said goodnight, etc. It was sad because each time we'd go to put him in the crib he'd say, "Go night-night monkey" wanting to stay in the bed. Like I said, next time I would plan on him sleeping there the first night.
• On Thursday, when he slept there the first time, he spent about 30 min. wandering around the room, knocking on the door and calling for us. We just went in every 5-10 minutes, put him back in bed and rubbed his back for a min. I had to do this for longer before his naps for a few days (the first day for more than an hour!!). But, for the past few nights/naps, we haven't had to go back in at all.
  
• Oh, I also took all the toys and books out of his room, so there is nothing in there to play with, except he still sleeps with the monkey. I also put the blanket from his crib on the bed - it is cuddly fabric and he has always slept on top of it.

Okay, so there is the advice. Overall it has been easier than I expected and actually pretty funny at times. One day right after I put him down for his nap I heard knocking on the door and him yelling, "Good Morning Mommy!" Nice try buddy! :) Also, last night he went down very well. We heard him talking in there for a little bit, but didn't think much of it. When we went in to check on him before we went to bed he was in the bed, although not quite the right direction, totally zonked, and stripped down to his diaper! His pj's were clear across the room! :) We just had to laugh!

Anyway, enough mommy talk! I know some of you other moms out there will get to do this before too much longer and I hope the advice helps! Also, here are a few pictures of Cameron's room as decorated so far. It is not my favorite room (the white walls are just too boring for me), but he seems to like it.

EGGNOG, it's what's for Christmas

You know, nothing helps me get into the holiday frame of mind more than a nice cold glass of eggnog. I find it strange that such a wonderful concoction could be produced simply from eggs, milk, whipped cream, and sugar. Alone, these ingredients are okay at best. But mix them together, and you get one of the best drinks on the face of the earth! The nog part of the name came from a middle English word noggin, which denoted a wooden, carved mug for serving alcohol. Whether taken with alcohol or not (I drink it virgin), eggnog is the perfect way to usher in the holiday season. So get to the store, and buy yourself a quart. Sit in front of your tree with your family, and enjoy a rich, creamy glass of eggnog. Not a fan? Just don't let Santa know. He checks his list twice. Once to see if you've earned Christmas presents via your good deeds, and twice to know if you are a "nog" household. So if you want the Jolly fat man in red to stop by your pad, learn to love it. I know I do!
-Adam